Easter Meditations

This weekend marks the most important celebration in the Christian calendar: the remembrance of Jesus death and celebration of His resurrection. Our entire faith rests on this, that Jesus took on death for us, and in paying for sin, gives us new life. Our sole response is faith, to believe in Him and accept His offer. We can't do anything to save ourselves, Jesus did it all.

I used to get confused as to why the resurrection was such a big deal, reasoning that it was because of the death of Christ that our sin was paid for and that we're saved. The resurrection seemed like almost an afterthought, just a validation of Jesus' claims of deity and ability to pay for sin. It is that, but it is so much more.

I thought I'd take a few moments to share some (emphasis on some - there are many more) of the reasons why the resurrection is so vital to our faith. Without it, our faith wouldn't exist (1 Cor 15:14). My prayer is that you'd have some of these things in mind this Sunday, as we celebrate the greatest victory in all of history, and the most significant day in our year.

1) In the resurrection, Jesus was the first to enter the glorified new life. (1 Cor 15:12-49)

Just as Adam was the first man to enter the life of sin and brokenness, Jesus (the "Second Adam") was the first to enter the glorified perfection that we'll inherit after we die. This isn't to say the Jesus wasn't always perfect, or glorified (He was, and is), but that as a man, Jesus was the "firstfruits", as it says in 1 Cor 15. His resurrected body is a model of the resurrected body that we'll one day have. We'll be raised from the dead with a new, glorified body upon Jesus return and the ushering in of a new Heaven and new earth. I could try to go on, but 1 Corinthians 15 pretty much says it all. Take a moment to read through it.

2) In the resurrection, Jesus defeated spiritual death. (1 Cor 15:50-58)

God gives us the victory over sin and death through Jesus. Amazing! Once we trust in Jesus, we no longer have to fear or worry about spiritual death, separation from God. We can now live at peace with God because our sin is paid for and we have the confident hope of eternity with God.

3) Through the resurrection, Jesus remains alive to this day.

Our God is alive, present, always with us. There is no body in the tomb. When Jesus rose from the dead, He didn't live on earth for a time and then die again; He ascended into Heaven, where He remains at the right hand of the Father. Our relationship with Him is real because He's alive and active.

4) Through His death and resurrection, Jesus opened the door for us to freely approach the Father (John 16:26-27)

In the passage I listed, Jesus says an interesting statement, that He will not ask the Father on our behalf, instead that we will ask God directly in Jesus name. This is significant. Prior to Jesus death and resurrection, people were separated from God and He was unapproachable because of our sin. In the Old Testament, God dwelt in the Holy of Holies of the temple, shielded off by a thick curtain, and only once a year, one man - the high priest - could enter. And even then it was risky - a certain set of things needed to happen first to ensure his purity, and he entered with a chain tied to his ankle in the chance that he'd die in God's holy presence, and the other priests would have to drag him out of the Holy of Holies by his ankle. When Jesus dies, that curtain was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51), showing that God was now approachable by all, but only through Christ. We, who are in Christ, have our sins paid for, and can now boldly and freely go to God and interact with Him, but we only go to Him in Jesus' name. This is why we pray in Jesus' name, He's the mediator through whom we are able to approach God. He also intercedes for us as He sits at God's right hand.

5) Through the resurrection, Jesus demonstrated His ultimate power and authority over everything. (Colossians 1:15-20)

Think about it - what's the most powerful thing someone could do? What would most demonstrate their authority and power over all things? It would have to be to rise from the dead! What is more final in our world than death? And Jesus defeated it, showing the limitless power of God.

6) Through Jesus' resurrection, He raised us with Him. (Colossians 2:11-14)

Awesome.

7) Through Jesus' resurrection, that very same power dwells in us and works for us. (Romans 8:11, Ephesians 1:15-23)

Read and think about what those passages say. The Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us, and gives life to us! How crazy is that? How often do we forget that truth, or neglect to tap into that power? And in Ephesians Paul says that the power that God worked in raising Christ from the dead (the greatest power display ever, remember) is for us and working toward us. Wow! This gives us reason to trust God to fight our battles for us, rather than fight them on our own. He's powerful and more than able to fight for us and win. It also gives us a great truth to keep in mind when, later in Ephesians, Paul says that our battle isn't against flesh and blood but against forces of spiritual darkness. These are intimidating forces, but God's power that was displayed in the resurrection is on our side. We can go to Him and let Him fight Satan and all his schemes for us.

These are just a few of the many, many things we could say about the resurrection. Not to mention all the things that Jesus' death accomplished. We could go on for hours and days and years just proclaiming all that Jesus did through His death and resurrection. As you meditate and reflect on these things this weekend, feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section. Let's praise and exalt Jesus together - He is so, so worthy! Praise Him always and forever for who He is and all He's done!!

--Jason

Temple of the Living God

2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 (ESV)...

"Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,

"I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,

and I will be their God,

and they shall be my people.

Therefore go out from their midst,

and be separate from them, says the Lord,

and touch no unclean thing;

then I will welcome you,

and I will be a father to you,

and you shall be sons and daughters to me, 

says the Lord Almighty."

Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God."

If you've heard these verses before, you've probably heard them in the context of "don't get married to a non-Christian". And that indeed is one application, but not the only one. The language used here is very strong, and Paul uses a series of questions to drive the point home, the answer to each question being "None". Then he comments that we are the temple of the living God, and as such we ought to not yoke ourselves with unbelievers, with wickedness, or with idolatry.

The fifth question in the series, "What agreement has the temple of God with idols?", reminds me of the many times in the Old Testament that Israel mixed idol worship with their worship of the one true God, in their culture and also in the physical temple. 2 Kings 21 is an example - the king Manasseh (possibly the absolute worst king in the history of Judah) built altars to idols and set carved images in the temple. In instances like that it's easy to see what God was so angry - people were worshipping false gods and committing all kinds of indecent acts in the very house He'd set aside for worship of Himself. It makes me angry too.

Now why do I bring this up? First, both here and in other places in the New Testament, it is emphasized that we - the body of believers in Christ - are the new temple of God. Jesus made it possible by His death and resurrection for us to become a dwelling place for Him. And it's clear in the New Testament that the Holy Spirit resides in us (John 14-16, Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Corinthains 5:5). So we are the temple, God's dwelling place. And that's astounding. 

In Corinth, idolatry was very cut and dry. There were actual temples to false gods in the city, and meals and celebrations dedicated to these idols happened all the time. The believers there apparently participated in such feasts, and Paul is calling them out, telling them to stop. They were mixing idolatry with their faith in Christ, bringing idols into the temple.

For us, idolatry isn't as black and white. But it is no less of a struggle. What are the idols you struggle with? For me, the biggest is probably my own pleasure or comfort - I seek to serve and please myself all the time. Some specific things I go overboard with are sports, Lost, Springsteen music, even food. I don't actually bow down to these things, but I do at times give them a place above God in my heart. These aren't bad things in themselves, but I can run after them more passionately than I run after Christ.

Another relevant point to be made is this: in our culture, moral wickedness abounds, and it's so easy for us to lazily give in to compromised moral standards. We watch terrible content in movies and TV, letting sexually explicit images or ideas come into the temple. We download illegally, making excuses as to its morality. We engage in immoral behavior in relationships with the opposite sex.

It's convicting and sobering to come face-to-face with the fact that these things - subtle idolatry or compromised morality - are defiling God's temple in much the same way that Israel set up physical idols in the physical temple. Praise God that He is so gracious to us, because we're full of sin! Seeing the depth of our unrighteousness gives us a deeper appreciation for how gracious God is in redeeming us through Christ. And that's the first application - no matter how wicked we are, God's grace reaches us - He forgives us. How freeing and how wonderful! Praise Him!

The second application is pretty simple - if we're the temple of God, we ought to take seriously the call to holiness and singleminded devotion to Christ. He's the only object of our worship. Seeing the greatness of His grace and the glory of who He is produces in us deep love and passion for Him. For me, I want to keep this Scripture passage in mind and ask God to convict me when I'm straying toward idolizing something as stupid as the newest episode of Lost, to put my focus on Jesus, the king and creator of all things. And I want to be more adamant in the fight against sin. It's so easy to take a lazy approach to holiness - compromising when no one is looking, giving in to little looks or thoughts, justifying questionable behavior. I want to live with integrity in even the small things as well as the big, so as not to defile the temple of the living God. The last verse in this passage says, "Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God." Every defilement, even the little ones. Tough, but worth it. God is so good.

What this passage is not leading us to apply is to be legalistic - our motivation is God's grace, not the producing of external righteousness. And it's not leading us to separate from the world to the extent that we put ourselves in a bubble, unable to affect change in culture. We can live set apart from sin and avoid being "unequally yoked" with unbelievers yet still be a part of the culture around us. In fact, that's what Scripture calls us to, and that's what Jesus did. And that's what will enable us to be change agents in culture and be a witness for Christ. Our holiness is a huge part of our evangelism. People are more responsive to our message of redemption and life change in Christ when they actually see that life change in front of them. 

Lord, let us live radically holy, set apart lives, fully devoted to Christ, as a part of the culture around us. And use us to lead others to you through it. Help us live as You lived, Jesus, and help us hold fast to Your grace when we stumble. And let us do it together - we, collectively, the church, are the temple of the living God. Thank You - Amen!

--Jason